Layers
by CJSpooks
Summary: Sky's having a bad day which causes him to discover something new about Bridge. Friendship fic!


Author's Note: I didn't think I was going to write another SPD one-shot so soon, but Bridge is just such a great muse! I came up with the idea when I was sitting at the computer a few days ago wrapped in blankets (sometimes my dorm room is freezing!). Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. Thanks for reading!

Layers

By CJSpooks

Sky shook his head as the replicator refused to make his coffee. It had been a long and tiring day ever since he had awakened. He had woken up early because Bridge was fumbling around the room with his new experiment, talking cheerfully to him at a million miles a minute. Sky had wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he stopped rambling about the ultimate all-in-one computer, toaster, and butter churner.

When he had run out of toothpaste and shampoo, Bridge had claimed that elves had taken them during the night. Sky knew that elves were green and basically Bridge was telling him that he had finished them both without asking in the most roundabout way possible. After that, Sky had wanted to strangle him. Or send him far, far, away.

Sky had done some laundry and to his dismay, found that a few of his favorite shirts had been discolored to a purplish shade. A pink sock of Syd's that had escaped his inspection for putting in the load was the culprit. Sky cursed out loud at that, startling a few cadets in the laundry room.

A string of more annoying events occurred thereafter, Boom had stepped on his foot I the cafeteria, a D-Squad cadet had professed her love for him in front of everyone during a training session, Z spilled a soda all over his SPD handbook, and Commander Cruger assigned him extra paperwork.

Sky hit the replicator in disgust and stormed his way back to his room. He planned on taking a long nap. At least if he was asleep, no bad things could happen to him. At least he hoped that was the case. But, he mused, with Bridge Carson as a roommate, anything was possible. Opening the door of the room, the blue ranger was surprised to see Bridge huddled on the bed reading, several green blankets covering his head and shoulders.

"Bridge?"

The green ranger looked up. "Hi, Sky."

"What's with the blankets on your head?" He was never one to beat around the bush when he wanted information.

"It's…uh…for…"

"Spit it out, Bridge. Come on, it's not cold."

Bridge shook his head. "No, it's not for cold. I mean, headquarters is always regulated to a comfortable temperature and there's never a need for real thick blankets like these standard issue ones. Well, I like—"

"Bridge!" Sky really wasn't in the mood for his friend's rambling at this point.

"Sorry about your toothpaste and shampoo. I replaced them while you were gone. You can go check if the bathroom if you don't believe me."

Sky's sighed and sat on Bridge's bed. "I believe you." He rubbed his face. "You didn't answer my question. Why do you have blankets on your head?"

"For the layers."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm trying to block out all of the energy."

"What are you feeling?" Sky became concerned. He hoped there wasn't another monster around…

"A lot of things. Actually, almost everything. My powers are evolving, Sky. Kat said it would happen eventually but, mine seem to be getting stronger much faster than anyone else's."

"Hey, that's a good thing."

"I guess…but it's been kind of hard controlling them and not letting them take over my life." Bridge looked somber.

"What do you mean?" Sky asked.

"At first I could only read auras and see people's true colors. And when I touched something that wasn't mine, or another person's skin, I'd know things about them."

"You recently found out that you could read minds too."

"Yeah, before it was only if I concentrated on someone. Now I'm feeling everyone else's feelings, sometimes to the extent that I have no idea which ones are my own. And I hear other people's thoughts if they have emotional energy attached to them, even if I don't want to hear them."

"So…"

"I know that you were really mad at me this morning."

"Not mad. Just a little irritated."

"You wanted to shake me, strangle me, and send me far, far away."

"Well, I…yes." There was no way to lie to a psychic and Sky knew it. "But that was this morning."

"You've had a bad day and you want to sleep."

"Yeah. But I'm talking to you so the nap can wait."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Okay."

"So if you wear a lot of layers, it seems to help?"

Bridge nodded. "Yep. I now need to wear long sleeves and long pants everywhere I go, no doubt about it. And of course, the gloves, too. Kat even put a special lining in my SPD uniform jackets to further dampen the energy from getting to me."

"I didn't know that."

"Only Commander Cruger and Kat knew."

"But you've been without long sleeves and long pants before."

"That was around the time my powers hadn't progressed so much. And now I only do that when I'm sleeping because I'm unaware of anything, and when I'm guaranteed to only feel good emotions and hear good thoughts."

Sky stayed silent and let all this new information sink in. There was much more to Bridge than his innocent confusing rhetoric. It was impressive and interesting all at the same time. Bridge put the book he had previously been reading, when Sky first came in, down on the floor. Something else fell from between Bridge and his blankets.

Sky snatched it up quickly, before Bridge could say anything. Sky couldn't believe it. It was a small fuzzy teddy bear wearing a uniform jacket that resembled Bridge's own. Sky glanced at Bridge and then back at the bear in his hands. "I didn't know SPD was into merchandizing."

"They're not. That's my bear, Bop. I've had him since I was a kid."

"You're still a kid."

"You know what I mean."

"How did you get a uniform jacket that small? It looks regulation. Did you invent a machine to shrink stuff?"

"No. Of course not, Sky. That'd be weird."

Sky rolled his eyes. "Then where did the jacket come from?"

"Syd helped me make it. Well, at first Bop was like me and had no colors but then the day that we were promoted, she told me to add the green trim to the jacket."

"He's just a bear."

Bridge leaned over and grabbed his teddy bear back and put his hands over Bop's ears. "Don't let him hear you say that!"

Sky shook his head. "Syd knew about the bear?"

"Sometimes she brings Peanuts over here and they hang out."

Sky held up his hands. "Whatever. Why didn't you tell me about…Bop?"

"I was embarrassed."

Sky was about to laugh since almost everything Bridge did regularly, including his obsession with toast and his tendency towards handstands when he was in deep thought, was, by normal standards, embarrassing but, he didn't out of respect for his friend.

"No need to be embarrassed. It's okay by me."

Bridge's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, really, Bridge." Sky got up and crossed over to his side of the room. He laid back on his bed and sighed. Bridge pulled his blankets closer and whispered something to Bop. Sky turned his head towards Bridge. "Bridge?"

Bridge looked up. "Am I annoying you, Sky?"

"No." Sky sat up. "Are you still feeling a lot of energy?"

"Um…it's getting worse, I think. Everyone at SPD is stressed and working really hard. Their emotions are quite potent, either happy or sad or frustrated. I can hear people's thoughts still…even Commander Cruger's and Kat's in the command center. But—"

Sky got up and went to his closet.

Bridge tilted his head to the side. "What're you doing?"

Sky didn't answer as he extracted a thick navy blue comforter from his top shelf. He went over and draped it over Bridge's head. Sky then laid down again on his bed. He closed his eyes. "Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Sky."

Without opening his eyes, Sky yawned and replied, "For the blanket? Your welcome. I'm here to help, Buddy."

Bridge smiled. "I meant for the positive energy in the blanket." He then pulled off one of his gloves and waved his hand towards the other side of the room. Bridge wanted to savor the lovely energies that played in the air.

End.


End file.
